Wednesday's Child
A missing boy leads to a shocking confession and a race to save his life. Plot Tom Moore arrives home from a business trip to find his young son, Nicky, missing from his bed. With a history of behavioral problems, the cops suspect he wandered off alone, and the search becomes more urgent as the diabetic boy's insulin pump runs out. But the investigation leads to something more dangerous when a criminal couple, known for child endangerment and pornography, is spotted with Nicky. With a child's life on the line, the cops try to turn one suspect against the other before it's too late. Meanwhile, a personal issue derails Sergeant Benson's current course. Summary Nicky, a young child with severe behavioral problems, lives with his parents, Tom and Lisa. Nicky's problems include slamming his head against walls, opening car doors on the highway, and biting and scratching his mother. The father, Tom, is often away on business trips. On one of these trips, the mother decides she cannot handle Nicky anymore and "re-homes" the boy with a child broker, a woman she has met online. The broker then places the child with a couple unknown to the mother. Tom comes home and realizes Nicky is gone, but the mother lies and says he has just disappeared and she didn't notice. Upon further investigation and interrogation, she cracks and admits what she has done. The search becomes urgent as Tom reveals that Nicky has diabetes and requires daily insulin injections. The officers go to interrogate the child broker about the couple. The couple turns out to be Roger and Alexa Pearson, two registered sex offenders. The pair had filmed child pornography years ago as a part of a "just turned legal" series, where all of the stars turned out to be not legal at all. They had posted many times on "re-homing" forums, trolling for children. The broker says that they can't get a normal adoption license because Roger is in a wheelchair. The detectives find the home of the couple, hastily abandoned, with plenty of children's clothing, sleeping bags, and many homemade dvds featuring child porn with two other young girls, and a recent one with Nicky. They manage to later corner Alexa at a pharmacy with the van used to take away Nicky. Alexa had previously lost a child to fetal alcohol syndrome, leading to her obsession with children. She tearfully gives away her husband's location after further pressure from the police. The officers go to the hotel room described by Alexa, and discover the two young girls, along with an older girl and a baby. Nicky has been taken by "Uncle" Roger to "get a treat". It is revealed the baby was brought home as a christmas present, like a puppy, for Alexa. A tip leads the officers to the airport, where it is discovered that Roger is not actually wheelchair bound, and he has just been pretending. However, he manages to escape the police, hiding Nicky in the process. The police lose both. They find Roger at a chinese place, stuffing his face full of food. When questioned about the boy, his only remarks are to wonder if he can get his food to go. Further interrogation at the station reveals that Roger abandoned Nicky at a hot donut place in the airport. He is discovered hiding on an airplane, unconscious due to his diabetes and lack of insulin. The episode ends with Olivia scolding Lisa for being a bad mother, with Lisa promising things will be different now, and Tom being reunited with Nicky, with Tom also promising things will be different now. Cast Main Cast * Mariska Hargitay as Sergeant Olivia Benson * Danny Pino as Detective Nick Amaro * Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins * Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola * Raúl Esparza as A.D.A. Rafael Barba'' (credit only)'' Recurring Cast * Jessica Phillips as Assistant Corporation Counsel Pippa Cox * Jayne Houdyshell as Judge Ruth Linden * Pablo Schreiber as William Lewis * Josh Pais as Deputy Commissioner Hank Abraham * Bill Irwin as Dr. Peter Lindstrom Guest Cast * Rosanna Arquette as Alexa Pearson * John Benjamin Hickey as Tom Moore * Jodie Markell as Lisa Moore * Constance Shulman as Daycare Manager * André De Shields as Keys * Giselle Eisenberg as Madison * Mark Boone Junior as Roger Pearson * Mark Doherty as Lieutenant Frank Ryan * Mimi Quillin as Abby Stans * John Sousa as Lenny * Duncan Nicholson as Nicky Moore * Misha Seo as Caitlin * Shania Li as Stella * Nayab Hussain as Jhumpa * Ashley North as Airport Passenger (uncredited) * Assibey Blake as TSA Agent (uncredited) References Episode references Quotes :Olivia Dr. Lindstrom I can handle the job. It's just I wasn't prepared for the caretaking. I mean, everybody needs my attention. If I focus on one, then the other acts out. ---- :Olivia: Lisa Moore about her son, Nicky She dropped the kid off like a kitten on the highway. You're gonna tell me that that's not endangering the welfare of a child? ---- :Amaro Alexa Pierson about Nicky These are his current glucose levels. If he goes into a coma, that's gonna be on you and Roger. :Alexa Pierson: No, that's gonna be on you. He would've had his insulin if you hadn't picked me up. Let me go and I'll make sure he gets his insulin. :Olivia: Wow. Bargaining while a kid's dying. That's... that's hardcore. :Alexa Pierson: Lady, you have no idea. Anything these kids have had to do, I've done backwards in high heels from the time I was 6. ---- :Lisa Moore: Olivia I know what you're thinking, but I was having a breakdown. :Olivia: I'm sure you were. But you call someone, you ask for help. You don't just discard a child. :Lisa Moore: I know that now. :Olivia: Do you? Do you have any idea how lucky you are that your child came back alive, unharmed? If there were any better options for Nicky, I would recommend that you don't get him back. :Lisa Moore: It's going to be different now. :Olivia: I hope so. ---- Background information and notes * At the beginning of the episode, Olivia buys a home pregnancy test, meaning she has started having sexual relations with Cassidy again after her abduction by William Lewis.'' '' * This episode marks the first appearance of Noah Porter-Benson. Episode scene cards Category:SVU episodes